Port-a-Potty

That's where I was when my race started...in a port-a-potty. By the time I got out, I had to sprint to catch up with the police car that was following the crowd. I had to haul ass to catch up with the race but I did. There were about 25 of us in line for the bathrooms and we were all stressing that we were going to be late and we were. So my hubs got no pictures of me at the start of the race since I ran out of the bathroom, past him, said a love you and was off. I had to have on 2 shirts and a light jacket, long pants, and my running gloves. It was sunny and about 35 degrees. I was grateful for no rain or wind. I took my water bottle and one double latte PowerBar gel.



I spent a couple of hours the night before making a running compilation. It was perfect. I didn't have to mess with my ipod at all. Music is so motivating to me. I really don't see how others go without it.


The city I live in is really pretty and has a river essentially running through it. Our race ran along the river. We ran on streets, our Centennial Trail, and a few dirt roads even. I was surprised we didn't have a timing chip since this was a rather large race. There were a ton of races happening at once: Marathon, marathon relay, 1/2 marathon, and a 5 mile. I don't know how they kept it all straight. I had about 3 people I kept my eye on that I wanted to stay with. They seemed like they were running at a pace I wanted to stick with. I can't believe how much I hate it when someone passes me. I let it go a little if it's a guy, but when it's another chick ggrrrrr. The 2 girls I had my eye on had passed me so my competitiveness wanted to stick with them. At one of the water stations I took them since they both stopped for water and I kept going since I had my own water. Near the end of the race though I was running out of gas and 2 different ladies passed me. I was OK with it though because I couldn't go any faster than I was.





Here are my overall results:


Finished: 1:48:52


Average pace: 8 min. 14 sec.


Age/Female group: 6th


Overall place: 131/675




One of the ladies that passed me said to me at the end, "Thank you. You really pushed me." That made me feel good. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment after it was done. Never in my whole like until recently did I EVER think that I, ME, MOI could run 13.1 miles! That just didn't even seem like a reality to me. Now I'm even considering trying a marathon. IT still seems out of the realm of possibility, but so did a 1/2.





Here's the weird thing. About a half an hour after my race, I had my lowfat chocolate milk for recovery food. I even had 1 (maybe 2) Krispy Kreme's (I know don't judge me! I had aunt flo talking to me and I've never had one before). Suddenly, when I got home my body started crashing. I could not get warm and all I wanted to do was jump into a hot bath. I knew I needed a cold bath though. So I got into a cold bath and my teeth chattered the whole time. My muscles felt good but I was now FREEZING. On top of that, my tummy went all kinds of crazy. I mean...it was not good. I was laid up in bed for 6 hours. I couldn't be more than 10 feet from the bathroom or I had a problem. I have a VERY sensitive tummy. Every time I go on a vacation, I always get "traveler's tummy." I think maybe I got so anxious for this race, that I made my tummy go nuts. It started the night before and I was making great food choices. I did finally find some Luna Moons and tried them, but I don't thing just eating 6 of those could have caused what happened to me yesterday. Not to be too graphic, but I weighed 5 lbs. less today than yesterday...that's how bad it was. It's doing better now, but not 100%. I hope this is not what will happen every time, because I don't think I can keep racing if it does. But for now, I already have my sights an another 1/2 marathon in March!! Here are a few unflattering photos:

Before the race:

Waiting in a HUGE line for the Port-a-Potty

My reaction to the hubs saying, "Go back. I didn't get the shot."

Me going back under the clock to get the pic.